A Denton
hazardous materials unit was at a site for nearly five hours in the 600 block
of Jim Christal Road after a gas well pipe separated from the well Friday morning,
authorities said.

Lindsey
Baker, spokeswoman for the city of Denton, said the separation caused fracking
water and small traces of natural gas to leak from the pipe.

The first
call came in about 11 a.m., she said, and authorities evacuated four homes as a
precaution.

The well
is owned by Eagle Ridge Operating LLC.

Air
traffic was redirected until any safety hazards were corrected, Baker said.
Denton Enterprise Airport is less than five miles from the leak.

Denton
police closed the intersections of Jim Christal at Masch Branch Road and Jim
Christal at Western Boulvard for more than four hours to detour traffic from
the area, said Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the Denton Police Department.

Crews
from the gas company appeared at the site to cap the well at about 1 p.m.,
Baker said.

Brad
Lahart, spokesman for the Denton Fire Department, said the gas company needed
to make sure there was enough water before actively getting started.

The leak
was capped at about 3:40 p.m. Friday, he said.

What
appeared to some as smoke at the scene was actually water vapor mixed in with
some hydrocarbons, Lahart said.

People
from the Texas Railroad Commission were at the site monitoring the capping and
will perform an investigation to make sure the site was properly kept up, according
to city officials.

“Right
now, we don’t know what caused the separation but the separation is what caused
the leak,” Baker said.

Denton
firefighters and paramedics remained at the scene to monitor the situation.

People
from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality arrived at the scene later
in the day and took air samples for testing, officials said.

Lahart
said there has been no danger to anyone because of the leak and no injuries
were reported.

“The city
will have continuous involvement with the ongoing investigation every step of
the way,” Lahart said.

MEGAN GRAY can be reached at 940-566-6885 and
via Twitter at @MGrayNews.

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